Unhappy Xmas – 80,000 families have benefits stopped, says union

More than 80,000 UK families face a bleak Christmas because their benefits have been stopped, the PCS says.

An estimated £20 million – £250 each on average – is being withheld from unemployed and disabled people this month under the government’s punitive and controversial sanctions regime.

Using Department for Work and Pensions data, the union calculates 74,000 people will lose more than £19 million in jobseeker’s allowance – an estimated 2,000% increase since the Christmas before the coalition government took office.

Almost £700,000 in employment and support allowance is being taken away from 6,800 disabled people this month.

The union is opposed to the system, known as the stricter benefits regime, which means jobseekers can have their benefits removed for up to three years and which charities cite as a reason for the rise in the use of food banks.

People are being punished for simply turning up late to an interview or refusing to work for free

DWP continues to claim there are no targets for advisers in jobcentres to refer people for sanctions, but the union has provided evidence that the department’s appraisal system, linked to the disciplinary procedure, is used to enforce ‘expectation’ levels.